The Trump admin has the Capitol locked down to secure order. No one is above the law.
Even a Fox News host has been pulled over by Trump law enforcement in Washington, D.C.
President Donald Trump’s move to take federal control of Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) on August 11, is a game-changer for a city that’s been crying out for safety. The nation’s capital, long plagued by crime and disorder, is finally seeing the kind of decisive action Americans have been demanding.
The incident that pushed Trump to act was no small matter. Coristine, a young staffer known for his grit, was brutally beaten while trying to stop a mob from carrying out a carjacking. This wasn’t an isolated event but a symptom of a city where gangs, drugs, and violent crime have festered for too long. Trump, invoking the D.C. Home Rule Act, deployed 800 National Guard troops and placed the MPD under federal authority, a historic first in American history.
Since the crackdown began, federal teams have swept up gang members, robbery suspects, and immigration violators. On one day alone, 52 people were arrested, including 28 illegal immigrants, with three guns taken off the streets. At least 212 arrests have occurred since Trump ordered the crackdown, roughly half of which took place in Wards 8 and 9, which reportedly account for nearly three-fifths of D.C.’s homicides.
Even high-profile figures aren’t above the law in Trump’s D.C. Fox News host Bret Baier found this out firsthand when he was pulled over for using his phone while driving. “I picked up my ringing phone as I drove past an officer while driving my wife’s car in Georgetown,” Baier posted on X after a video of the stop went viral. “He pointed to have me pull over- I did. He was very professional. I had to dig for the registration card. Got a ticket and left. I didn’t know there was paparazzi.” The officer’s professionalism shows the MPD, under federal oversight, is enforcing the law fairly and firmly, no exceptions.
Despite what the leftist media claims, crime in D.C. has been a persistent problem. Sure, the Metropolitan Police Department reported a 35% drop in violent crime from 2023 to 2024, with homicides down 32% and robberies down 39%. And yes, 2025 has seen a further 26% decline in violent crime compared to last year. But these numbers don’t tell the whole story. D.C.’s m*rder rate in 2024 was still 27.54 per 100,000 residents, ranking fourth among major U.S. cities. That’s unacceptable for the nation’s capital, where tourists and lawmakers should feel safe, not threatened.
Trump has D.C. so locked down that even Bret Baier is getting stopped. 😭 pic.twitter.com/bvqSkpCVTv
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) August 19, 2025
Trump’s critics, like Mayor Muriel Bowser, cry foul, calling the takeover a “manufactured emergency.” They point to the stats and say crime is at a 30-year low. But as crime analyst Jeff Asher notes, D.C.’s m*rder rate, while down from its 2023 peak, is still 70% higher than a decade ago. And carjackings, though declining, remain elevated compared to pre-2020 levels. Residents agree—65% of Washingtonians polled by The Washington Post last year said crime is a “very” or “extremely” serious problem. Numbers might be down, but fear is still up, and Trump’s listening to the people, not the bureaucrats.
Then there’s the immigration angle, and this is where Trump’s leadership shines. Of the 308 arrests since August 7, 135 were unauthorized immigrants, according to the White House. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are working alongside the National Guard, targeting criminals who’ve slipped through the cracks of a broken system. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s order to end D.C.’s sanctuary city policies is a gut punch to the left’s open-border agenda. “D.C. under federal control is not going to be a sanctuary city,” said border czar Tom Homan on Fox News.
The left is predictably outraged, claiming Trump’s exaggerating the crime problem. The Guardian called his portrayal “hyperbolic and false,” pointing to the 30-year low in violent crime. But they miss the point. Even if crime is down statistically, the perception of danger is real. Residents don’t feel safe when they see homeless encampments or hear about carjackings. Trump gets that.
As Jenn Pellegrino of the America First Policy Institute told Fox News, “While the left is saying that there’s nothing to see here, that the White House is overreacting to this situation, it’s about how people feel.” Trump’s delivering on his promise to make D.C. safe and beautiful again.
The crackdown’s early success is undeniable. Federal teams have cleared 25 homeless encampments without incident, tackling the squalor that’s tarnished the capital’s image. The operation, dubbed “Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful,” involves 1,800 personnel across 22 multi-agency teams. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called the scale “breathtaking.” And it’s not just about arrests—38 guns are off the streets, reducing the tools of violence. This is what leadership looks like: swift, decisive, and unapologetic.
But the leftist establishment isn’t happy. They’re clinging to their narrative that D.C. was fine before Trump stepped in. The New York Times whined that Trump’s move is an “extraordinary exertion of federal power,” and CNN called it a “political stunt.” They conveniently ignore the fact that D.C.’s unique status under the Home Rule Act gives the president the authority to act when the city fails to protect itself. Trump’s not overstepping; he’s using the tools Congress gave him to fix a problem the local government couldn’t.
The immigration crackdown is particularly galling to the left. ICE’s targeted stings, like one at a Home Depot that nabbed criminals convicted of assault, theft, and gang activity, are a direct challenge to the sanctuary city mindset. The left wants you to believe these are just “working-class immigrants” being unfairly targeted.
But the reality is, Trump’s administration is going after those who break our laws and threaten our communities. As a White House official told The New York Times, 135 of the 308 arrests were unauthorized immigrants.
D.C. residents are starting to see the difference. Christopher Her, a Maryland resident who used to work in D.C., told NBC News, “I know every inch of the city, and to have seen over the years the deterioration of public places, either with graffiti or with people who are homeless, I couldn’t be more encouraged by the fact that there are people now that really want to say, ‘Stop, let’s make this better.’” That’s the voice of the people, not the elites who’ve let D.C. slide into disarray.
Of course, there’s pushback. Protesters chanting “get off our streets” gathered at a checkpoint in the U Street corridor, decrying what they call a “fascist” takeover. But these are the same folks who’d rather let criminals run free than admit Trump’s getting results. The courts are also getting involved, with a federal judge allowing the administration to require D.C.’s help on immigration enforcement for now. The fight’s not over, but Trump’s team is ready to push back against any resistance.
The contrast with the Biden years couldn’t be clearer. Under Biden, illegal immigration surged, and cities like D.C. suffered as lax policies let crime fester. Trump’s second term is a return to law and order, with a no-nonsense approach to deporting criminals and securing our streets. His administration’s actions in D.C. are a blueprint for what’s to come in other blue cities like Chicago or New York, where crime and illegal immigration have gone unchecked for too long.
